The Water On My Scales, The Leaves On My Skin
by amandandria
Summary: Fado managed to roll onto his stomach, coughing and beginning to retch, spitting up blood… too red, too red… onto the stone. His breath was beginning to crackle in his throat. A rib had snapped, and pierced his lung. He couldn't catch his breath, he couldn't breathe.


A young boy clothed in a green tunic ran the bow over his woodsy violin, a soft song emitting from the wood instrument. Though the song was light and spirited his moves were heavy and robotic, making it obvious he had played this song many times before. Once he reached the end of the Lyric, he plopped down heavily on the ground, carefully placing the sacred instrument next to him.

"I'm praying to the goddesses that a man sealed away hundreds of years ago will stay sealed. If he was going to break free, I think he would have done so long ago. But now I'm stuck in this _pit_!" he snarled the word as though it were a foul one, "praying to goddesses who I'm not sure if they even exist!" he grabbed a large rock and hurled it at the wall with a sickening _Crunch!._ An insane smile slid on his face when it shattered, flinging deadly shards across the room.

"Why can't we pray in normal temples? How hard would it be to convert a building into a temple? I HATE THIS CAVE! I HATE THIS VIOLIN! I HATE THE HERO! I HATE THE GODDESSES!" his voice echoed through the empty room, making him cringe. For anyone, especially a sage, to say that was ludicrous. He half expected the goddesses to strike him down where he stood. _But they won't._ A deep voice nagged at the back of his head. _They need you alive so you can pray and give them power._ Fado found himself nodding in agreement. He was a sage! He was supposed to follow the goddesses, no matter what!

AND THAT WASN'T HIS OWN VOICE IN HIS HEAD!

"Gyaaaah!" he howled, shaking his head while clutching his ears. "SHUT! UP!" the voice went silent. Fado curled up into a tight ball. "What's wrong with me?"

A young Kokiri darted through the 'temple', opening doors and looking inside before continuing on. Fado was looking for monsters, though the energy from the Triforce where he prayed kept them at bay. "Nope, no monsters!… Wait! What's that?" he asked no one, seeing a flat, leafy, green plant directly in his path. "Why's it familiar? Where've I seen it before?" he stepped towards it…

And leapt back with a yelp as a bulbous thing lunged towards him. Fado froze in disbelief. With its shadowy blue coloration, serrated fangs that drooled poison, and slimy tongue that tasted the air, there was no mistaking the Deku Baba for anything else.

"No… there CAN'T be monsters here!" he squealed, sliding a dagger free from his pocket. Though he didn't agree with violence (like most Kokiris), he needed it for food and to protect himself if a wild animal managed to get into the temple somehow.

"This is a bad sign," he commented before plunging the knife forward.

Fado leaned gently from side to side, keeping the beat of the song as he played. "Goddesses, please keep Ganondorf, ex-King of the Gerudo, ex-King of Darkness, and ex-usurper of the kingdom of Hyrule, sealed away under the power of the original Sages, and the Master Sword. Please keep power in the Master Sword so it will be ready for the next hero if darkness begins to overtake the land once more. Please-!" he staggered as a sudden feeling of despair and hopelessness washed over him. "Wha-?"

A bone chilling chuckle echoed through the small room in which he prayed. He was so startled his bow scraped against the strings of his violin, making a loud screeching sound. Fado looked up, his pupils dilating in terror.

Curly red hair and beard. Dark black skin. Gerudo markings. There was no mistaking the King of Evil himself, Ganondorf. "G-G-G-G-G-G-G-"

"Oh let me! Oh my goddesses! Its GANONDORF!" the evil man chuckled, stepping towards the Kokiri. Though the young Sage knew it would be useless, he pulled his small knife out and pointed it at the man.

Ganondorf laughed and lunged at Fado, knocking the leaf blade from his trembling hands. He snapped the blade with his foot. "Why do you follow your 'goddesses', who abandoned you and dumped you in this pit? They do nothing, and leave you to rot! Why do you not join me, someone you can rely on and actually speak with?"

Fado bared his teeth in fear and anger. _He's right, you know. They don't care about you. If they did, why would they have left you here? _"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he roared, causing Ganondorf to step back in shock.

Ganondorf laughed. "Fine then. You will not join me… so you will DIE!" he lunged suddenly, backhanding the Kokiri, sending him flying. Fado rolled along the ground, small whimpers of pain escaping his lips as he pressed against his - newly - broken arm. He shoved his good arm under him and staggered to his feet.

"G-go t-to-!"

Ganondorf grabbed him by the front of his tunic. "Give up yet?" Fado shook his head and snarled. Ganondorf narrowed his split-blood colored eyes and removed one hand Kokiri's clothing, only to pull it back and snap it forward. CRUNCH!

Fado cried out, removing his hands from Ganondorf's arms to clutch at his broken nose, spilling blood on the Evil King's sleeves. The Gerudo dropped him to the floor, baring his teeth in an evil smile that looked more like a grimace, before suddenly kicking him hard and repeatedly in his stomach. WHOOSH! CRACK! WHOOSH! CRACK! WHOOSH! CRACK!

Fado managed to roll onto his stomach, coughing and beginning to retch, spitting up blood… too red, too red… onto the stone. His breath was beginning to crackle in his throat. A rib had snapped, and pierced his lung. He couldn't catch his breath, he couldn't breathe.

"Little Kokiri, why do you still fight, it is obvious that I will win! I am stronger than you! I was stronger than the hero of old himself! I. AM. ALL. POWERFUL!" the cave shook with the force of his shout. Power began to flow around the King of Evil, emanating from the pulsating Triforce Shard of Power he possessed.

"If you are so strong, why did you lose to a _teenaged_," Fado stressed the word, "hero?"

Instantly Fado knew he shouldn't have said that, and wished that he could somehow snatch the words from the air and take them back. Ganondorf's face contorted in anger, and orbs of dark energy formed in his fist. "I was thinking of sparing you, in hopes of turning you to my cause… but now, for your insolence… you. Must. DIE!"

Fado had never seen someone as fat as Ganondorf move so fast. One second, he was standing there, the next his meaty fist made contact with the Kokiri's face. Fado was thrown a good five feet into the air, blood spinning around him as he tumbled. He hit the floor and lay there, lacking the energy to stand. His gaze landed on his violin. If he could keep the Gerudo away from his beloved instrument, it would be able to find its next-! CRUNCH!

The usurper of the throne pressed his foot down harder on Fado's broken leg, making the boy cry out in pain. Black gripped at the edge of his vision, but Fado stubbornly blinked away the approaching unconsciousness. _'If I'm going to die, I'm going to die with my eyes open!'_ he thought, barely blinking as Ganondorf reached down and pulled him up. "Any last words, you insufferable brat?" he roared, shoving his decaying teeth into Fado's face.

Fado blinked, slowly nodding. "I can't help but hope that the new hero kills you as mercilessly as you killed me."

Ganondorf snarled. "Now, DIE!" he brought his knee up, shoving the Kokiri's nose into his brain. Neither of the two noticed the violin dissolving into smoke.

'I can only hope my successor is strong and true.'


End file.
